Favor
by LA-ink13
Summary: Nell has a simple request for Callen. Except it's never simple when it comes to the two of them.


_And now for something totally different. Little bit of fluffy, fluff._

* * *

"Please, Callen," Nell asked. "Please, please, please. I'll come over and take care of it, and I'll never ask you for anything else ever again."

"I don't need it Nell," he said, shaking his head. "I don't have time for it."

"You wouldn't have to do a thing. I'd take care of all of it. I promise," she said quickly. "Please, please say yes."

"I don't need a cat, Nell," Callen said softly.

"It's a kitten, and he won't be any trouble, and please," She begged. "My landlord won't let me keep him, and I don't want to take him to the pound. He's an orphan, Callen. You can't really expect me to drop him at the pound. That's just mean."

"You won't even leave a toothbrush at my place, and now you want to leave a kitten?" Callen asked, as he tried to hold back a grin.

Her face flushed, and he laughed. She was so easy to fluster. It was one of the things that he found endearing about her.

"We decided to keep it casual," she said softly. "Leaving things at each other's places is not casual."

"Nell."

She shook her head, interrupting him. "Never mind, Callen. I'll ask Sam; maybe his daughter would like a kitten."

He watched in silence as she headed down the hallway without even glancing back at him. Their relationship had come as a surprise to him, but he hadn't been able to deny the connection they shared. What had started as a drunken night after a long case, where she woke up beside him, in his bed, fully clothed had quickly become something more. It had led to more time spent together, laughter, movies, food, and eventually sex. It has surprised him when she let him know from the start that anything they had would be casual.

She would come over on weekends when they didn't have a case, and for a couple of days it was like they were playing house. Her toothbrush would sit beside his, and her shampoo would be in the shower. When the weekend was over, she was careful to pack everything up and suddenly everything that he had enjoyed about the weekend was gone. At work she was careful to treat him the way she treated everyone else, and when she joked with Eric, he tried to not be jealous, and he suppressed the urge to punch the innocent tech.

And now she wanted him to take a kitten. One that she said she'd take care of, but that he was sure she's leave alone during the week the way she left him. With a sigh, he leaned against the wall, gently beating his head off the smooth stone.

"Take the kitten," Eric said softly as he walked past.

Callen turned and looked at him. "What?"

"The kitten that Nell wants you to take. Take it," he repeated.

"Why?" Callen asked.

"It's an excuse. A reason to come over during the week," Eris whispered. "Her lease allows cats. It's not her landlord that's making her get rid of it. She's looking for a reason to see you outside of work, during the week."

"How do you know this?" Callen asked softly.

"She's my best friend. And she tells me things," Eric said softly. "And if she knew I was telling you, she'd never talk to me again, so I'm taking a chance here, but she cares about you. She's worried you'll push her away so she's made all these stupid rules that she follows with you. When to see you, when to stay over, when to leave. All to protect herself. Prove her wrong. Show her that she doesn't have to protect herself. Or set her free, tell her it's over. Just stop dragging out this casual thing that you two have before it destroys you both."

Callen nodded. "I never heard you say a thing, Eric."

Eric nodded and quickly walked away leaving Callen to his thoughts. That small conversation answered a lot of his questions and he knew that he had to find Nell.

He finally found her in the gym, lying on a mat, halfheartedly kicking at a punching bag.

"Getting your morning exercise in?" he asked, kneeling beside her.

"Go away, Agent Callen," she said, swinging her foot out toward him.

He caught her foot in his hand and settled it in his lap. He softly rubbed at her ankle, and watched her glare at him in silence.

"I'm sorry, Nell," he said finally. "The kitten is welcome. So are you. If you want, I'll even give you a key so you can come see it anytime you want."

She leaned up on her arms to look at him. "Really?"

"Yes, really," he said with a smile. "And if you think the kitten's lonely, you can stay with him if you'd like."

Nell pulled her foot away and sat up, staring at him. "What?"

"You can stay over whenever you want Nell. You don't need to run off when the weekend ends. There's no one else in my life, and it gets a little lonely sometimes when you're not there."

"I thought we decided this was casual," she said as she shook her head. "No strings, just friends with benefits."

"You decided that," Callen said softly. "And I didn't argue with you. But if you want more, I'm open for that. And if you want a kitten, I'm ok with that too."

"You said you didn't have time," she said softly.

"For a kitten that I thought I would end up taking care of alone," he said gently. "But if you're there, I think we can manage it."

"We?"

He nodded. "We. That means you'll have to come over every morning and feed him, and every night and play with him, and you're cleaning his litter box."

Nell scrunched up her nose. "I thought maybe you could put in a cat door."

"You want me to cut a hole in my door?"

"Or you could clean the litter box."

"Do you really want him getting outside and getting fleas and getting into fights with strays?" Callen asked.

"So you'll clean the litter box?" Nell asked with a grin.

"I will do it, on one condition," he countered. "You have to agree to leave a toothbrush at my place."

"You mean it?" she asked softly.

Callen nodded. "I like you, Nell. I like spending time with you, and falling asleep in bed with you. When you're not there, I go back to sleeping on my bedroll because the bedroom is to lonely without you."

"Oh," she said softly, as a smile lit up her face.

"So come over tonight, with the kitten, kitten supplies, and some of your things, and stay the night. I'll get dinner and have a key made for you on the way home."

He patted her knee and stood up. Offering her his hand, he pulled her off the mat and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. He pulled back slightly and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Now, go get ups to ops before Hetty comes looking for us," he said with a grin. "I'll see you tonight."


End file.
